Skip to content
Pete White is the Founder and Co-Director of Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN), an organization that cultivates grassroots leadership within the Central City East community to address issues facing its extremely low-income, predominantly African American residents. LA CAN focuses on housing and civil rights, access to healthy food, women’s rights, and violence prevention.
Lynn Kersey is the founding and former Executive Director of Maternal and Child Health Access (MCHA), established in 1996 following her long career in health services. The organization ensures access to health and social services for low-income women and their families through education, support, training, case management, and policy advocacy. In addition to leading MCHA’s [...]
Esther Feldman founded Community Conservancy International in 1997 and served as its President following a long career dedicated to expanding parkland, recreational areas, and open space throughout Los Angeles. Under her leadership, the organization focused primarily on the development of Baldwin Hills Park—a 1,400-acre expanse that now provides much-needed green space in a city second [...]
Rev. Eugene Williams III was the Founder and Executive Director of Los Angeles Metropolitan Churches (LAM), a network of small to midsize African American congregations across Los Angeles County. Founded in 1994, the organization was established to build the capacity of these churches to meet the needs of their communities. Its mission is to address [...]
Steve LePore left a career as Human Resources Director at Landmark Entertainment Group to become the Founder and Executive Director of My Friend’s Place, an organization that serves at-risk youth in Hollywood. The organization offers free meals, HIV testing, health care, housing referrals, job training, and counseling to thousands of young Angelenos each year. * [...]
Susan Burton is the founding Executive Director of A New Way of Life ReEntry Project (ANWOL), which operates homes and programs in South LA to support women recently released from prison in staying sober, finding jobs, and developing life skills. Susan herself overcame a decades-long history of incarceration and the struggles with reentry. After her [...]
Andy Lipkis began his environmental career at the age of 15 and went on to found TreePeople in 1973, with the goal of empowering Los Angeles residents to plant and care for trees and revitalize their neighborhoods. As President, Andy grew TreePeople into a multi-million dollar organization supported by tens of thousands of volunteers and [...]
Susan Kujawa first came to the Families Forward Learning Center (formerly the Mothers’ Club Community Center) as a client, and later served as the organization’s Executive Director for 22 years. The Mothers’ Club was a community-based organization that provided parenting education and support services for isolated, disadvantaged women, as well as early childhood education for [...]
Father Gregory Boyle is the Founder and Director of Homeboy Industries (formerly Jobs for a Future), initially launched as an initiative of Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission. Located in East Los Angeles, the Homeboy serves as an employment referral center and economic development program for at-risk and gang-involved youth. The organization operates several self-sustaining businesses—including [...]
John Malpede is the founding Artistic Director for the Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD), a theater collective of homeless and formerly homeless individuals. Founded in 1985, LAPD works to build community in Skid Row and to raise public awareness of the “real deal” of life on the streets. Collaborating with drug recovery programs, transitional housing [...]
